Sourdough Rolls
This recipe yields the perfect sourdough rolls, enjoyed with butter and cheese as part of a classic Danish breakfast!
Ingredients
- 100 grams sourdough starter
- 300 grams warm water
- 500 grams bread flour
- 10 grams salt
Instructions
- Prepare your starter by feeding it in your preferred ratio and waiting until it peaks to use in the dough - if you don't have a starter or are unsure of how to prepare it for use in a recipe, please read the sections in the post above for more detail!
- Combine dough ingredients in a bowl: add your starter, then add warm water (if you're particular about temping the water, we suggest between 25-29 C or 77-84 F); mix together to dissolve the starter slightly. Then add your bread flour and salt.
- Mix/knead together until there are no dry spots and the dough is one cohesive ball (just about a minute of kneading or mixing).
- The next step is the bulk fermentation step, where the dough will rest in the bowl for a total of 6-7 hours. At the beginning of this stage, you will complete three "stretch and folds" to help the dough develop gluten.
- After the first 30 minutes of the dough resting, complete your first stretch and fold. With damp hands (run them under water briefly) you will pull up the sides of the dough in the bowl and fold them inwards, along four quadrants of the bowl. If you're confused, this blog post by The Clever Carrot is a great resource for this technique. Once you have completed this first stretch and fold, let the dough rise again for another 30 minutes.
- Repeat the above step for the second stretch and fold; rest for another 30 minutes.
- Complete the final stretch and fold. You can throw in one more (a fourth) stretch and fold if you feel like it. The dough will now rest for an additional 4.5-5.5 hours.
- At this point, the dough should have about doubled in size. It shouldn’t be too sticky on top when you touch it, and if you tilt the bowl, it should peel away from the sides of the bowl without sticking. At this point, you can take a few approaches to shaping the rolls, by either shaping the dough into a large loaf or shaping it into smaller rolls already.
- You can either shape the rolls to rise in the fridge overnight, or shape into a large loaf to rise in the fridge (and shape the rolls in the morning).
- To shape the rolls prior to resting in the fridge: Divide the dough into 8 even pieces. Take one portion of dough and pinch together into a ball shape - cup the ball in your hand with the top of the roll touching your palm. Place the ball on an unfloured surface and move your cupped hand in quick, tight circles to make the seam on the bottom of the dough come together and create tension on the surface of the dough.
- Place the roll on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper and dusted with a bit of flour.
- Repeat with the rest of the rolls. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap that's lightly oiled and place in the fridge to rest for at least 8 hours.
- If you'd prefer to shape the rolls the morning of baking, take your dough after rising and tip out onto a lightly floured surface. Press the dough flat into a rectangle, then roll it up tightly from one end. Roll it again in the opposite direction and you should have a ball of dough. Place seam side down on the table, and make sure the surface has little to no flour left on it. Pull the dough towards you, then rotate the dough at least once and repeat pulling the dough towards you, letting the surface grab the bottom of the dough to create surface tension and a round shape. For a helpful illustration, check out the diagram on The Fresh Loaf blog.
- Place your dough ball in a basket or bowl that's lined and lightly floured. For best results, place a piece of plastic wrap that's lightly oiled over the surface of the dough to prevent any tough skin from forming when you go to shape the rolls the next day.
- The next morning, take your shaped rolls out of the fridge, or take your dough ball out of the fridge and refer to the roll shaping step above to make 8 rolls that you then will place on a a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Place a deep baking ban/roasting pan on the bottom rack of the oven, and position a second rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 410F (210C).
- If you just shaped your rolls, let them rest for about 30 minutes to an hour before baking.
- Right before baking the rolls, boil some water (we use around 200-300ml) in a kettle – you'll need this when the rolls are ready to bake.
- To score the dough: Lightly dust the tops of the rolls with flour and with a sharp knife or bread lame cut an "x" shape into the top of each roll, about 1/2" or 1-2cm depth.
- Once the oven has preheated and you've scored the rolls, quickly place your rolls on the middle rack of then oven and very carefully pour the boiling water into your roasting pan on the bottom rack of the oven. Quickly close the oven door.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and hollow sounding when you tap them. Depending on your oven, they may need to bake for longer, so keep an eye on them!
- Once baked, let cool on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes. They're great warm and fresh out of the oven, but the structure will be a little bit better if you let them cool completely. Enjoy!
Make sure you have an active starter before attempting this recipe!